To prevent reduction in printing quality, a printer includes an image formation section having a thermal head with a plurality of heating elements and transporting an ink ribbon and a transfer film at the same velocity to form an image on the transfer film, and a control section controlling the image formation section. The control section controls the image formation section to form a printing image on the transfer film according to input printing information and form a dummy image wider than the printing image on the width-direction opposite sides at the back thereof in the transport direction. On the ink ribbon, a wrinkle, which occurs in the rear end corner portion in the transport direction of a printing region corresponding to the printing image, is stopped by a sag caused by that the ink is removed in a dummy printing region Rd corresponding to the dummy image.
|
1. An image formation apparatus for forming an image on a medium using an ink ribbon, comprising:
an image formation section, including a thermal head with a plurality of heating elements arranged, adapted to transport the ink ribbon and the medium at the same velocity to form an image on the medium; and
a control section adapted to control the image formation section,
wherein the control section controls the image formation section so as to form a printing image on the medium according to input printing information, and operate the heating elements on the ink ribbon to form a dummy image at the back of the printing image in a transport direction of the medium, and
the dummy image is wider than the printing image on opposite sides in a width direction of the medium crossing the transport direction of the medium.
2. The image formation apparatus according to
3. The image formation apparatus according to
4. The image formation apparatus according to
5. The image formation apparatus according to
6. The image formation apparatus according to
7. The image formation apparatus according to
8. The image formation apparatus according to
9. The image formation apparatus according to
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The present invention relates to an image formation apparatus, and more particularly, to an image formation apparatus for forming an image on a medium using an ink ribbon.
Conventionally, such an image formation apparatus has been known widely that forms an image on a transfer medium such as a transfer film and an image carrying body or a recording medium such as a card and sheet. This type of image formation apparatus uses an indirect printing scheme for forming an image (mirror image) on a transfer medium using an ink ribbon, and next transferring the image formed on the transfer medium to a recording medium, or a direct printing scheme for forming an image directly on a recording medium using an ink ribbon.
Such an image formation apparatus is generally provided with an image formation section having a thermal head with a plurality of heating elements arranged, and platen (for example, platen roller) disposed opposite the thermal head, transports an ink ribbon and a medium (transfer medium in the indirect printing scheme, recording medium in the direct printing scheme) at the same velocity while supporting the back side (opposite surface side to the image formation surface) of the medium by the platen, selectively operates (heat-controls) the heating elements of the thermal head brought into press-contact with the ink ribbon, and thereby forms an image.
Further, in such an image formation apparatus, there is the case where printing is performed with single-color ink (for example, Bk (Black) ink), and there are many cases that color printing for generating a color image is performed by superimposing respective images with inks of a plurality of colors. In the case of color printing, printing is performed by superimposing images for each of inks of a plurality of colors (for example, inks of YMC) on a medium, according to input printing data or printing data (for example, printing data for each of Y (Yellow), M (Magenta) and C (Cyan)) obtained by converting input image data. Therefore, in color printing is used an ink ribbon with ink panels of a plurality of colors and a Bk (Black) ink panel as necessary repeated in a face sequential manner. In addition, for example, the Bk ink is used in the case of sharpening the contour, or in the case of forming an image of logo, character and the like.
In addition, in the image formation apparatus using the ink ribbon, a phenomenon for degrading printing quality on the medium arises by effect of a wrinkle occurring in the ink ribbon. This wrinkle occurs due to a level difference in a rear end corner portion in the ink ribbon transport direction of a printing region of the ink ribbon. Usually, in the case where tension on the ink ribbon is uniformly applied, any wrinkle does not occur even when such a level difference arises. However, when the tension balance is lost due to some cause, the wrinkle caused by the level difference occurs easily.
The phenomenon will be described more specifically. As shown in
On the other hand, conventionally, on the transfer medium, known are techniques (for example, see Patent Document 1) for arranging a dummy image so as to enclose a printing image, and techniques (for example, see Patent Document 2) for arranging dummy images on the opposite outer sides of the printing image.
In addition, in the techniques in Patent Document 1, with attention directed toward the ink ribbon while substituting a card as a printing object, since a dummy printing region (region of the ink ribbon 41 corresponding to the dummy image of the medium, see reference numeral Rd of
In view of the aforementioned matter, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image formation apparatus capable of preventing reduction in printing quality caused by a wrinkle of an ink ribbon.
In order to attain the above-mentioned object, in the present invention, in an image formation apparatus for forming an image on a medium using an ink ribbon, the apparatus is provided with an image formation section that includes a thermal head with a plurality of heating elements arranged and that transports the ink ribbon and the medium at the same velocity to form an image on the medium, and a control section that controls the image formation section, where the control section controls the image formation section so as to form a printing image on the medium according to input printing information, and operate the heating elements on the ink ribbon to form a dummy image at the back of the printing image in a transport direction of the medium, and the dummy image is wider than the printing image on opposite sides in a width direction of the medium crossing the transport direction of the medium.
In the invention, it is preferable that the control section controls the image formation section so as to form the printing image and the dummy image by a series of operation. Further, the control section may control the image formation section so that gradation values of pixels inside a region of the dummy image are the same. The ink ribbon includes panels of a plurality of colors of dye ink panel and pigment ink panel, and the control section may control the image formation section so as to form the dummy image by operating the heating elements on at least the pigment ink panel among ink panels. Alternatively, the ink ribbon is formed by repeating ink panels of a plurality of colors and a Bk (Black) ink panel as necessary in a face sequential manner, and the control section may control the image formation section so as to form the printing image and the dummy image by operating the heating elements on each of the ink panels. Further, the invention is applicable to both of image formation apparatuses of indirect and direct printing schemes, the medium is a film-shaped intermediate transfer medium, and the apparatus may further be provided with a transfer section that transfers a printing image formed on the intermediate transfer medium to a printing medium. Alternatively, the medium is a card-shaped recording medium, the image formation section further includes a platen roller disposed opposite the thermal head, a circumferential length of the platen roller is longer than a length of the recording medium, and the platen roller may include a region that receives ink of the ink ribbon in forming the dummy image in a part of the circumferential surface.
According to the present invention, since the image formation section is controlled so that the ink ribbon and the medium are transported at the same velocity, and that the dummy image wider than the printing image on the width-direction opposite sides is formed at the back of the printing image in the medium transport direction, on the ink ribbon, it is possible to relax the effect of the wrinkle, which occurs in the rear end corner portion in the transport direction of the printing region corresponding to the printing image of the medium, to stem by a sag caused by that the ink is removed in the dummy printing region of the ink ribbon corresponding to the dummy image, and since the dummy printing region is wider than the printing region on the width-direction opposite sides, the wrinkle itself occurring in the rear end corner portion of the dummy printing region in the transport direction does not affect the next printing region. It is thereby possible to obtain the effect of enabling reduction in printing quality caused by the wrinkle of the ink ribbon to be prevented.
Embodiments will be described below where the present invention is applied to a printer for printing and recording text and image on a card, while performing magnetic or electric information recording on the card.
<System Configuration>
As shown in
The printer 1 is connected to the higher apparatus 201 via an interface with the figure omitted, and the higher apparatus 201 is capable of transmitting printing data (or image data), magnetic or electric recording data and the like to the printer 1 to indicate recording operation and the like. In addition, the printer 1 has an operation panel section (operation display section) 5 (see
The higher apparatus 201 is connected to an image input apparatus 204 such as a digital camera and scanner, an input apparatus 203 such as a keyboard and mouse to input commands and data to the higher apparatus 201, and a monitor 202 such as a liquid crystal display to display data and the like generated in the higher apparatus 201.
<Printer>
As shown in
(Information Recording Section)
The information recording section A is comprised of a magnetic recording section 24, non-contact type IC recording section 23, and contact type IC recording section 27.
(Media Storage Section)
The media storage section C stores a plurality of cards aligned in a standing posture, is provided at its front end with a separation opening 7, feeds and supplies sequentially starting with the card in the front row with a pickup roller 19.
(Rotating Unit)
The fed blank card Ca is sent to a reverse unit F with carry-in rollers 22. The reverse unit F is comprised of a rotating frame 80 bearing-supported by the housing 2 to be turnable, and two roller pairs 20, 21 supported on the frame. Then, the roller pairs 20, 21 are axially supported by the rotating frame 80 to be rotatable.
In the outer region of the rotating reverse unit F are disposed the above-mentioned magnetic recording section 24, non-contact type IC recording section 23, and contact type IC recording section 27. Then, the roller pairs 20, 21 form a medium transport path 65 for transporting the card Ca toward one of the information recording sections 23, 24 and 27, and data is magnetically or electrically written on the card Ca in the recording sections.
(Printing Section)
The printing section B is to form an image such as a photograph of face and text data on the frontside and backside of the card Ca, and a medium transport path P1 for carrying the card Ca is provided on an extension of the medium transport path 65. Further, in the medium transport path P1 are disposed transport rollers 29, 30 that transport the card Ca, and the rollers are coupled to a transport motor not shown.
The printing section B has a film-shaped medium transport mechanism, and is provided with an image formation section B1 that forms an image, with a thermal head 40, on a transfer film 46 transported with the transport mechanism, and a transfer section B2 that subsequently transfers the image formed on the transfer film 46 to the surface of the card Ca on the medium transport path P1 with a heat roller 33.
On the downstream side of the printing section B is provided a medium transport path P2 for carrying the printed card Ca to a storage stacker 60. In the medium transport path P2 are disposed transport rollers 37, 38 that transport the card Ca, and the rollers are coupled to a transport motor not shown.
A decurl mechanism 36 is disposed in between the transport roller 37 and the transport roller 38, presses the card center portion held between the transport rollers 37, 38, and thereby corrects a curl generated by thermal transfer with the heat roller 33. Therefore, the decurl mechanism 36 is configured to be able to shift to positions in the vertical direction as viewed in
(Storage Section)
The storage section D is configured to store cards Ca sent from the printing section Bin the storage stacker 60. The storage stacker 60 is configured to shift downward in
(Details of the Printing Section)
Next, the printing section B of the printer 1 as described above will be further described specifically.
The transfer film 46 has the shape of a band having a width slightly larger than the width direction of the card Ca, and is formed by layering, from above, an ink reception layer that receives ink of an ink ribbon 41, a transparent protective layer that protects the surface of the ink reception layer, a peeling layer to promote integral peeling of the ink reception layer and protective layer by heat, and a substrate (base film) in this order.
The transfer film 46 is wound up or fed by a wind-up roll or feed roll that rotates inside a transfer film cassette by driving of motor Mr2 or Mr4, respectively. In other words, in the transfer film cassette, a wind-up spool 47 is disposed in the center of the wind-up roll, a supply spool 48 is disposed in the center of the feed roll, a rotation drive force of the motor Mr2 is transferred to the wind-up spool 47 via a gear not shown, and a rotation drive force of the motor Mr4 is transferred to the supply spool 48 via a gear not shown.
A film transport roller 49 is a main drive roller to carry the transfer film 46, and by controlling driving of the roller 49, transport amount and transport halt position of the transfer film 46 are determined. The film transport roller 49 is coupled to a stepping motor not shown. Accordingly, by monitoring the number of pulses output to the stepping motor not shown, controlled are a printing start position in the transfer film 46 with the thermal head 40 in the image formation section B1, and a transfer position of the transfer film 46 to the card Ca in the transfer section B2. In addition, the motors Mr2 and Mr4 are driven also in driving the film transport roller 49, are to wind up the transfer film 46 fed from one of the wind-up spool 47 and supply spool 48 with the other one, and are not driven as main transport of the transfer film 46. In addition, forward-backward rotatable DC motors are used for the motors Mr2 and Mr4.
Pinch rollers 32a and 32b are disposed on the periphery of the film transport roller 49. Although not shown in
The ink ribbon 41 is held in an ink ribbon cassette 42, and is stored in the cassette 42 in a state in which the ribbon is laid between a supply spool 43 for supplying the ink ribbon 41 and a wind-up spool 44 for winding up the ink ribbon 41, the wind-up spool 44 rotates by a drive force of a motor Mr1, and the supply spool 43 rotates by a drive force of a motor Mr3. Forward-backward rotatable DC motors are used for the motors Mr1 and Mr3.
The ink ribbon 41 is configured by repeating ink panels of Y (Yellow), M (Magenta), and C (Cyan) and a Bk (Black) ink panel in the longitudinal direction in a face sequential manner. In addition, in this Embodiment, dye ink is used in the YMC ink panel, and pigment ink is used in the Bk ink panel. Further, an empty mark indicative of a use limit of the ink ribbon 41 is attached to an end portion of the ink ribbon 41. “Se2” shown in
A platen roller 45 and thermal head 40 form the image formation section B1, and the thermal head 40 is disposed in a position opposed to the platen roller 45. The thermal head 40 has a plurality of heating elements lined in the main scanning direction, these heating elements are selectively heated and controlled by a head control IC (not shown) according to printing data, and an image is printed on the transfer film 46 via the ink ribbon 41. In addition, a cooling fan 39 is to cool the thermal head 40.
The ink ribbon 41 with which printing on the transfer film 46 is finished is peeled off from the transfer film 46 with a peeling roller 25 and peeling member 28. The peeling member 28 is fixed to the ink ribbon cassette 42, the peeling roller 25 comes into contact with the peeling member 28 in printing, and the roller 25 and member 28 nip the transfer film. 46 and ink ribbon 41 to peel. Then, the peeled ink ribbon 41 is wound around the wind-up spool 44 by the drive force of the motor Mr1, and the transfer film 46 is transported to the transfer section B2 having the platen roller 31 and heat roller 33 by the film transport roller 49.
In the transfer section B2, the transfer film 46 is nipped together with the card Ca by the heat roller 33 and platen roller 31, and the image on the transfer film 46 is transferred to the card surface. At this point, the transfer film 46 and the card Ca are transported at the same velocity. In addition, the heat roller 33 is attached to an up-and-down mechanism (not shown) so as to come into contact with and separate from the platen roller 31 via the transfer film 46.
The configuration of the image formation section B1 will specifically be described further together with its action. As shown in
Spring members 51 (51a, 51b) are mounted on the support shaft 58, and end portions on which the pinch rollers 32a, 32b are installed of the pinch roller support member 57 respectively contact the spring members 51, and are biased to the direction of the film transport roller 49 by the spring forces.
The bracket 50 comes into contact with the cam operation surface of a cam 53 in a cam receiver 81, and is configured to shift in the horizontal direction viewed in the figure with respect to the film transport roller 49, corresponding to rotation in the arrow direction of the cam 53 with a cam shaft 82 as the axis rotating by a drive force of a drive motor 54 (see
At this point, the pinch roller 32b in a farther position from a shaft 95 as a rotation axis of the bracket 50 first comes into press-contact with the film transport roller 49, and next, the pinch roller 32a comes into press-contact. In this way, by arranging the shaft 95 that is the rotation axis higher than the film transport roller 49, the pinch roller support member 57 comes into contact with the film transport roller 49 while rotating, instead of parallel shift, and there is the advantage that the space in the width direction is less than in the parallel shift.
Further, the press-contact forces when the pinch rollers 32a, 32b come into press-contact with the film transport roller 49 are uniform in the width direction of the transfer film 46 by the spring members 51. At this point, since the long holes 76, 77 are formed on the opposite sides of the pinch roller support member 57 and the support shaft 58 is fixed to the fix portion 78, it is possible to adjust the pinch roller support member 57 in three directions, and the transfer film 46 is transported in a correct posture by rotation of the film transport roller 49 without causing skew. In addition, adjustments in three directions described herein are to (i) adjust the parallel degree in the horizontal direction of the shafts of the pinch rollers 32a, 32b with respect to the shaft of the film transport roller 49 to uniform the press-contact forces in the shaft direction of the pinch rollers 32a, 32b with respect to the film transport roller 49, (ii) adjust shift distances of the pinch rollers 32a, 32b with respect to the film transport roller 49 to uniform the press-contact force of the pinch roller 32a on the film transport roller 49 and the press-contact force of the pinch roller 32b on the film transport roller 49, and (iii) adjust the parallel degree in the vertical direction of the shafts of the pinch rollers 32a, 32b with respect to the shaft of the film transport roller 49 so that the shafts of the pinch rollers 32a, 32b are perpendicular to the film travel direction.
Furthermore, the bracket 50 is provided with a tension receiving member 52 that comes into contact with a portion of the transfer film 46 which is not wound around the film transport roller 49 when the bracket 50 moves toward the film transport roller 49.
The tension receiving member 52 is provided to prevent the pinch rollers 32a, 32b from retracting from the film transport roller 49 respectively against the biasing forces of the spring members 51 due to the tension of the transfer film. 46 occurring when the pinch rollers 32a, 32b bring the transfer film 46 into press-contact with the film transport roller 49. Accordingly, the tension receiving member 52 is attached to the front end of the end portion on the rotation side of the bracket 50 so as to come into contact with the transfer film 46 in the position to the left of the pinch rollers 32a, 32b viewed in the figure.
By this means, the cam 53 is capable of directly receiving the tension occurring due to elasticity of the transfer film 46 through the tension receiving member 52. Accordingly, the pinch rollers 32a, 32b are prevented from retracting from the film transport roller 49 due to the tension and from decreasing the press-contact forces of the pinch rollers 32a, 32b, thereby maintain the winding state in which the transfer film 46 is brought into intimate contact with the film transport roller 49, and are able to perform accurate transport.
As shown in
The bracket 50A has a substrate 87, and cam receiver support portion 85 formed by bending the substrate 87 in the direction of the platen support member 72, and the cam receiver support portion 85 holds a cam receiver 84. A cam 53A rotating on a cam shaft 83 as the axis driven by the drive motor 54 is disposed between the substrate 87 and the cam receiver support portion 85, and is configured so that the cam operation surface and cam receiver 84 come into contact with each other. Accordingly, when the bracket 50A moves in the direction of the thermal head 40 by rotation of the cam 53A, the platen support members 72 also shift to bring the platen roller 45 into press-contact with the thermal head 40.
The spring members 99 and cam 53A are thus disposed vertically between the bracket 50A and the platen support members 72, and it is thereby possible to store a platen shift unit within the distance between the bracket 50A and the platen support members 72. Further, the width direction is held within the width of the platen roller 45, and it is possible to save space.
Moreover, since the cam receiver support portion 85 is fitted into bore portions 72a, 72b (see
When the platen roller 45 comes into press-contact with the thermal head 40, the spring members 99 connected to respective platen support members 72 act each so as to uniform the press-contact force on the width direction of the transfer film 46. Therefore, when the transfer film 46 is transported by the film transport roller 49, the skew is prevented, and it is possible to perform image formation on the transfer film 46 by the thermal head 40 accurately without the printing region of the transfer film 46 shifting in the width direction.
The substrate 87 of the bracket 50A is provided with a pair of peeling roller support members 88 for supporting opposite ends of the peeling roller 25 via spring members 97, and when the bracket 50A moves to the thermal head 40 by rotation of the cam 53A, the peeling roller 25 comes into contact with the peeling member 28 to peel off the transfer film 46 and ink ribbon 41 nipped between the roller and member. The peeling roller support members 88 are also provided respectively at opposite ends of the peeling roller 25 as in the platen support members 72, and are configured so as to uniform the press-contact force in the width direction on the peeling member 28.
A tension receiving member 52A is provided in an end portion on the side opposite to the end portion on the shaft support 59 side of the bracket 50A. The tension receiving member 52A is provided to absorb the tension of the transfer film 46 occurring in bringing the platen roller 45 and peeling roller 25 respectively into press-contact with the thermal head 40 and peeling member 28. The spring members 99 and 97 are provided so as to uniform the press-contact force on the width direction of the transfer film 46, and in order for the spring members 99 and 97 not to be inversely behind the tension of the transfer film 46 and decrease the press-contact force on the transfer film 46, the tension receiving member 52A receives the tension from the transfer film 46. In addition, since the tension receiving member 52A is also fixed to the bracket 50A as in the above-mentioned tension receiving member 52, the cam 53A receives the tension of the transfer film 46 via the bracket 50A, and is not behind the tension of the transfer film 46. By this means, the press-contact force of the thermal head 40 and platen roller 45 and the press-contact force of the peeling member 28 and peeling roller 25 are held, and it is thereby possible to perform excellent printing and peeling. Further, any error does not occur in the transport amount of the transfer film 46 in driving the film transport roller 49, the transfer film 46 corresponding to the length of the printing region is accurately transported to the thermal head 40, and it is possible to perform printing with accuracy.
The cam 53 and cam 53A are driven by the same drive motor 54 with a belt 98 (see
When the printing section B is in a waiting position as shown in
Then, when the cam 53 and cam 53A are rotated in conjunction with each other and are in the state as shown in
In this state, when transport of the transfer film 46 is started by rotation of the film transport roller 49, at the same time, the ink ribbon 41 is also wound around the wind-up spool 44 by operation of the motor Mr1 and transported in the same direction. During this transport, a positioning mark provided in the transfer film 46 passes through a sensor Se1 and shifts a predetermined amount, and at the time the transfer film 46 arrives at a printing start position, printing by the thermal head 40 is performed on the predetermined region of the transfer film 46. Particularly, since the tension of the transfer film 46 is large during printing, the tension of the transfer film 46 acts on the direction for separating the pinch rollers 32a, 32b from the film transport roller 49 and the direction for separating the peeling roller 25 and platen roller 45 from the peeling member 28 and thermal head 40. However, as described above, since the tension of the transfer film 46 is received in the tension receiving members 52, 52A, the press-contact forces of the pinch rollers 32a, 32b are not decreased, it is thereby possible to perform accurate film transport, the press-contact force of the thermal head 40 and platen roller 45 and the press-contract force of the peeling member 28 and peeling roller 25 are not decreased either, and it is thereby possible to perform accurate printing and peeling. The ink ribbon 41 with which printing is finished is peeled off from the transfer film 46 and wound around the wind-up spool 44.
A shift amount by transport of the transfer film 46 i.e. a length in the transport direction of a printing region to undergo printing is detected by an encoder (not shown) provided in the film transport roller 49, rotation of the film transport roller 49 is halted corresponding to detection, and at the same time, winding by the wind-up spool 44 by operation of the motor Mr1 is also halted. By this means, finished is printing with the ink of the first ink panel on the printing region of the transfer film 46.
Next, when the cam 53 and cam 53A are further rotated in conjunction with each other and are in the state as shown in
Then, the control state by the cam 53 and cam 53A becomes the state as shown in
Thus, the operation in the printing position and transport position is repeated until printing with ink of all or predetermined ink panel is finished. Then, when printing with the thermal head 40 is finished, the image-formed region of the transfer film 46 is transported to the heat roller 33, and at this point, the cam 53 and cam 53A shift to the state as shown in
Such a printing section B is divided into three units 90, 91, and 92.
As shown in
In
The above-mentioned thermal head 40 is disposed in the position opposed to the platen roller 45 with a transport path of the transfer film 46 and ink ribbon 41 therebetween. The thermal head 40, members related to heating and cooling fan 39 are integrated into the third unit 92 as shown in
The first unit 90 collectively holds the platen roller 45, peeling roller 25 and tension receiving member 52A varying in position by printing operation in the movable bracket 50A, and thereby eliminates the need of position adjustments among the members. Moreover, by shifting the bracket 50A by rotation of the cam 53, it is possible to shift the members to predetermined positions. Further, since the bracket 50A is provided, it is possible to store in the same unit as that of the fixed film transport roller 49, the transport drive portion by the film transport roller 49 required to transport the transfer film with accuracy and the transfer position regulation portion by the platen roller 45 are included in the same unit, and therefore, the need is eliminated for position adjustments between both portions.
As shown in
In the pinch roller support member 57, the spring members 51a, 51b are attached to the support shaft 58, and their end portions are respectively brought into contact with the opposite ends of the pinch roller support member 57 that supports the pinch rollers 32a, 32b to bias to the direction of the film transport roller 49. In the pinch roller support member 57, the support shaft 58 is inserted in the long holes 76, 77, and is fixed and supported in the center portion by the bracket 50.
A spring 89 for biasing the pinch roller support member 57 toward the bracket 50 is provided between the bracket 50 and the pinch roller support member 57. By this spring 89, the pinch roller support member 57 is biased in the direction of moving backward from the film transport roller 49 of the first unit 90, and therefore, it is possible to easily pass the transfer film 46 through between the first unit 90 and the second unit 91 in setting the transfer film cassette in the printer 1.
The second unit 91 holds the pinch rollers 32a, 32b, and tension receiving member 52 varying in position corresponding to printing operation in the bracket 50A, shifts the pinch rollers 32a, 32b and tension receiving member 52 by shifting the bracket 50A by rotation of the cam 53, and thereby simplifies position adjustments between the rollers and member, and position adjustments between the pinch rollers 32a, 32b and the film transport roller 49. Such a second unit 91 is disposed opposite the first unit 90 with the transfer film 46 therebetween.
By thus making the units, it is also possible to pull each of the first unit 90, second unit 91 and third unit 92 out of the main body of the printer 1 as in the cassette of each of the transfer film 46 and ink ribbon 41. Accordingly, in replacing the cassette due to consumption of the transfer film 46 or ink ribbon 41, when the units 90, 91 and 92 are pulled out as required, it is possible to install the transfer film 46 or ink ribbon 41 readily inside the apparatus in inserting the cassette.
As described above, by combining the first unit 90 into which are integrated the platen roller 45, bracket 50A, cam 53A, and platen support members 72, and the second unit 91 into which are integrated the pinch rollers 32a, 32b, bracket 50, cam 53 and spring members 51, and placing and installing the third unit 92 with the thermal head 40 attached thereto opposite the platen roller 45, it is possible to perform assembly in manufacturing the printer and adjustments in maintenance with ease and accuracy. Moreover, by integrating, it is possible to perform removal from the apparatus with ease, and the handleability as the printer is improved.
Described next is control and electric system of the printer 1. As shown in
<Control Section>
As shown in
The microcomputer 102 is connected to external buses. The external bus is connected to an interface, not shown, to communicate with the higher apparatus 201, and buffer memory 101 to temporarily store printing data to print on the card Ca, recording data to magnetically or electrically record in a magnetic stripe or stored IC of the card Ca, and the like.
Further, the external bus is connected to a sensor control section 103 that controls signals from various sensors, an actuator control section 104 that includes motor drivers and the like for supplying drive pulses and drive power to respective motors, a thermal head control section 105 to control thermal energy to the heating elements constituting the thermal head 40, an operation display control section 106 to control the operation panel section 5, and the above-mentioned information recording section A.
(Power Supply Section)
The power supply section 120 supplies operation/drive power to the control section 100, thermal head 40, heat roller 33, operation panel section 5, information recording section A and the like.
<Features of the Printer>
Described next are features of the printer 1 of this Embodiment.
One of the features of the printer 1 of this Embodiment is that the control section 100 controls the image formation section B1 so as to transport the ink ribbon 41 and the transfer film 46 at the same velocity, and form a dummy image wider than a printing image on the opposite sides in the width direction crossing the transport direction of the transfer film 46 at the back of the printing image in the transport direction. By this means, as shown in
Further, another feature of the printer 1 of this Embodiment is that the control section 100 controls the image formation section B1 so as to form the printing image and the dummy image by a series of operation. By bringing the thermal head 40 into press-contact with the ink ribbon 41 and continuously operating the heating elements on the printing region Rt and dummy printing region Rd of the ink ribbon 41, the printing image and the dummy image are formed on the transfer film 46 by a series of operation. When the dummy image is formed on the transfer film 46 using the dummy printing region Rd of the Y ink panel immediately before printing on the printing region of the M ink panel, the ink ribbon 41 is already transported a long distance by peeling operation after Y ink panel printing, feeding operation described later and the like, the wrinkle caused by the level difference occurs, and it is not possible to obtain the effect of preventing the wrinkle as described above.
Furthermore, still another feature of the printer 1 of this Embodiment is that the control section 100 controls the image formation section B1 so that gradation values of pixels inside a region of the dummy image are the same (the dummy image is the so-called solid image). By setting pixels at the same gradation value, the wrinkle Wr1 shown in
<Dimensions of the Ink Ribbon, etc.>
To facilitate understanding of the present invention, dimensions of each of the ink ribbon 41, printing region Rt, dummy printing region Rd and the like used in the Example will be described next according to the printer 1 of this Embodiment for reference.
As shown in
<Operation>
Next, a printing routine by the printer 1 of this Embodiment will be described with emphasis on the CPU (hereinafter, simply referred to as CPU) of the microcomputer 102. In addition, to simplify the description, the description will be given while assuming that initial setting processing for decompressing programs and the like stored in the ROM in the RAM, and positioning each of members constituting the printer 1 in a home (initial) position is finished, and that printing data (color component printing data of Y, M, C and printing data of Bk), magnetic or electric recording data and the like are already received from the higher apparatus 201.
(Image Formation)
In the printing routine, first, the image formation section B1 performs image formation processing for forming the printing image (mirror image) in a predetermined region on the transfer film 46 and the dummy image at the back of the region.
In other words, according to the color component printing data of Y, M, C and printing data of Bk input (stored in the buffer member 101), first, the transfer film 46 is positioned in the above-mentioned printing start position, feeding of the Y ink panel of the ink ribbon 41 is performed (“reference” position shown in
As shown in
After the printing image and dummy image with the Y ink are formed on the transfer film 46, and the ink ribbon 41 and transfer film 46 are peeled off with the peeling roller 25 and peeling member 28, the transfer film 46 is transported backward to the above-mentioned printing preparation position. Next, the transfer film 46 is shifted from the printing preparation position to the printing start position, feeding of the M ink panel of the ink ribbon 41 is performed, as in the case of formation of the printing image with the printing data of Y and dummy image, a printing image of M ink is formed in the predetermined position of the transfer film 46 according to the printing data of M, the dummy image wider than the printing image of M ink is continuously formed at the back in the transport direction of the printing image of M ink by operating the heating elements of the thermal head 41, and in this state, the ink ribbon 41 and the transfer film 46 are peeled off. Subsequently, similarly, the section performs formation of a printing image with the printing data of C and dummy image and peeling, and formation of a printing image with the printing data of Bk and dummy image and peeling.
By the image formation processing, printing images with Y, M, C and Bk inks of the ink ribbon 41 are superimposed and a color printing image (mirror image) is formed in the predetermined region of the transfer film 46. The CPU controls a stepping motor, not shown, which drives the film transport roller 49 so that respective printing images of Y, M, C and Bk inks are superimposed in the predetermined region of the transfer film 46 i.e. that printing start positions of respective printing images are the same as one another. In addition, in this Embodiment, after an image of one surface side of the card Ca is formed in the predetermined region of the transfer film 46, an image of the other surface side is formed in the next region of the transfer film 46.
(Card Transport)
In parallel with the image formation processing, the CPU feeds out the card Ca from the media storage section C, based on the received magnetic or electric recording data performs recording processing on the card Ca in one of the magnetic recording section 24, non-contact type IC recording section 23, and contact type IC recording section 27 constituting the information recording section A, and then, transports the card Ca to the transfer section B2.
(Transfer)
Next, in the transfer section B2, the CPU performs transfer processing for transferring the color printing image formed on the transfer film 46 to the card Ca. In this transfer processing, the CPU controls so that the card Ca and the image formed in the predetermined region (or the next region) of the transfer film 46 arrive at the transfer section B2 in synchronization with each other. In addition, after transferring the image to one surface of the card Ca, the CPU transports the card Ca to the rotating unit F side to rotate the card Ca 180°, and transfers the image for the other surface to the other surface of the card Ca.
(Card Discharge)
Next, the CPU corrects a curl of the card Ca occurring in thermal transfer with the heat roller 33 in the decurl mechanism 36, then discharges the card Ca toward the storage stacker 60, and finishes the printing routine.
<Effects, etc.>
The effects and the like of the printer 1 of this Embodiment will be described next.
In the printer 1 of this Embodiment, the control section 100 controls the image formation section B1 so as to transport the ink ribbon 41 and the transfer film 46 at the same velocity, and form a dummy image wider than a printing image on the width-direction opposite sides of the transfer film 46 at the back of the printing image in the transport direction. By this means, as shown in
Further, in the printer 1 of this Embodiment, the control section 100 controls the image formation section B1 so as to form the printing image and the dummy image by a series of operation (continuously). For example, when the dummy image is formed on the transfer film 46 using the dummy printing region Rd of the Y ink panel immediately before printing on the printing region Rt of the M ink panel, the ink ribbon 41 is already transported a long distance by peeling operation after Y ink panel printing, feeding operation and the like, and the wrinkle caused by the level difference occurs. In the contrast thereto, in the case of forming the printing image and the dummy image by a series of operation, it is possible to reliably exert the effect of preventing the wrinkle as described above.
Furthermore, in the printer 1 of this Embodiment, the control section 100 controls the image formation section B1 so that gradation values of pixels inside a region of the dummy image are the same. Therefore, as shown in
In addition, this Embodiment exemplifies the printer 1 of the indirect printing scheme, and the present invention is also applicable to a printer of the direct printing scheme.
The respect to note herein is that it is possible to receive the dummy image on the transfer film 46 (form the dummy image on the transfer film 46) in the case of using the transfer film 46 as a medium as in the above-mentioned Embodiment, and that in the case of the direct transfer scheme, it is not possible to receive the dummy image (ink of the dummy printing region Rd) on the card Ca as a medium. Therefore, the circumferential length of the platen roller 45A is set to be longer than the length of the card Ca in the transport direction, and the platen roller 45A has a first circumferential area 45Aa to support the back side of the transported card Ca, and a second circumferential area (region) 45Ab to receive ink of the dummy printing region Rd of the ink ribbon 41, on the circumferential surface.
Further, an encoder, not shown, is fitted into the roller shaft of the platen roller 45A, and by referring to information output from the encoder, the control section 100 performs control for aligning the front end of the card Ca with the first and second circumferential surfaces. In other words, the section controls so that as shown in
Furthermore, this Embodiment exemplifies the ink ribbon 41 with ink panels of Y, M, C, and Bk repeated in a face sequential manner, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, in the case of single color printing, an ink ribbon of a single color (for example, Bk) may be used, and in the case of color printing, ink panels of cold and silver may be used in addition to Y, M, C and Bk. Further, the ink ribbon may have a panel of a protective layer to cover the surface of the card Ca. Furthermore, an ink ribbon may be used where ink panels of two colors are repeated in a face sequential manner.
Still furthermore, this Embodiment shows the example that the printing image and dummy image are formed on the transfer film 46 using the ink of the printing region Rt and dummy printing region Rd of each of ink panels of Y, M, C and Bk, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, since any wrinkle does not occur in an ink panel of which ink is not used in the printing region Rt among ink panels of a plurality of colors, with respect to the ink panel, it is not necessary to form the dummy image on the transfer film 46 using the ink of the dummy printing region Rd.
Moreover, in the dye ink panel and pigment ink panel, being caused by the particle diameter of the ink, the wrinkle caused by the level difference tends to occur in the pigment predominantly. In this Embodiment, as described above, since the pigment ink is used in the ink panel of Bk, for example, only in the case of forming the printing image on the transfer film 46 using the Bk ink of the printing region Rt of the Bk ink panel, the dummy image may be formed in the rear end in the transport direction of the printing image, using the Bk ink of the dummy printing region Rd of the Bk ink panel, and also in this case, the significant effect is exerted to prevent reduction in printing quality caused by the wrinkle of the ink ribbon. In addition, since there is the case where pigment ink is also used in the above-mentioned ink panels of a plurality of colors, in the case of forming the printing image on the transfer film 46 using the ink panel of pigment ink, similarly, the dummy image may be formed using the ink of the dummy printing region Rd of the ink panel of pigment ink. Accordingly, the ink ribbon has panels of a plurality of colors of dye ink panel and pigment ink panel, and the control section 100 may control the image formation section B1 to form the dummy image by operating heating elements on at least the pigment ink panel among ink panels.
Further, this Embodiment shows the example where the printing region Rt and the dummy printing region Rd are separated in each ink panel of the ink ribbon 41 and the dummy printing region Rd is in the shape of a rectangle (see
Furthermore, this Embodiment shows the example where the length in the width direction of the dummy printing region Rd is fixed to a certain value (58 mm in the Example, see
Still furthermore, this Embodiment shows the example where the image formation section B1 forms an image of one surface side of the card Ca in a predetermined region of the transfer film 46, and then, forms an image of the other surface side in a next region of the transfer film 46, the transfer section B2 transfers the image to one surface of the card Ca, the card Ca is then transported to the rotating unit F side and is rotated 180°, and the image for the other surface is transferred to the other surface of the card Ca, and another configuration may be adopted where the image formation section B1 forms an image of one surface side of the card Ca in a predetermined region of the transfer film 46, after the transfer section B2 transfers the image to one surface of the card Ca or during transfer, the image formation section B1 forms an image of the other surface side in a next region of the transfer film 46, the card Ca is transported to the rotating unit F side and is rotated 180° after transferring the image to one surface of the card Ca, and the transfer section B2 transfers the image for the other surface to the other surface of the card Ca.
Moreover, this Embodiment shows the example of receiving (inputting) the printing data from the higher apparatus 201, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, in the case of a configuration where the printer 1 is capable of connecting to an external storage device such as USB and memory card, the printer 1 may acquire the printing data by reading the information stored in the external storage device. Further, in the case where the printer 1 constitutes a member of a local network, the information may be input from a personal computer connected to the local network other than the higher apparatus. Furthermore, instead of the printing data, the printer 1 may receive the image data from the higher apparatus 201. In this case, the image data received on the printer 1 side can be converted into the printing data.
Then, this Embodiment exemplifies the ink ribbon cassette 42, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and it is indisputable that the invention is applicable to types of ink ribbons without using the cassette.
The above-mentioned description is given with emphasis on the respect for preventing reduction in printing quality by the wrinkle occurring in the ink ribbon 41 in the image formation section B1, and the ink ribbon 41 and transfer film 46 are both in the shape of a film, and share the common respect that the wrinkle caused by the level difference occurs due to ink removal (in the case of the ink ribbon 41) and image removal (in the case of the transfer film 46). Therefore, the printer 1 of this Embodiment also has the advantage for preventing the wrinkle, which occurs in the rear end corner portion in the transport direction of the transfer region (region to which the printing image is transferred) of the transfer film 46 in the transfer section B2, from extending to the next region of the transfer film 46.
In addition, in the respect of action•effect, the film is slightly different from the above-mentioned case of the ink ribbon 41. As described above, in the image formation section B1, the wrinkle Wr1 (see
Accordingly, it is possible to include, in the scope of claims, “an image formation apparatus provided with an image formation section that includes a thermal head with a plurality of heating elements arranged and that transports an ink ribbon and a transfer medium at the same velocity to form a printing image on the transfer medium according to input printing information, a transfer section that includes a first rotating body and a second rotating body disposed opposite the first rotating body and that transports the transfer medium and a recording medium at the same velocity to transfer the printing image formed on the transfer medium in the image formation section to the recording medium, and a control section that controls the image formation section and the transfer section, where the control section controls the image formation section so as to form a dummy image at the back of the printing image formed on the transfer medium in a transport direction of the transfer medium, and controls the transfer section so as to transfer only the printing image formed on the transfer medium in the image formation section to the recording medium, and the dummy image is wider than the printing image on opposite sides in a width direction of the transfer medium crossing the transport direction of the transfer medium”. In addition, in the above-mentioned Embodiment, the “first rotating body” is exemplified as the heat roller (heat rotating body) 33, and the “second rotating body” is exemplified as the platen roller 31.
The above-mentioned Embodiment (Embodiment 1) illustrates the aspect where the printing region Rt and dummy printing region Rd are provided inside a single ink panel, and as in Embodiment 2 described below, the dummy image may be formed in a position across a rearward ink panel of the printing image in the transport direction. In addition, in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2, the arrangement of the dummy printing region Rd only differs, and therefore, descriptions of common members, operation, effects and the like will be omitted.
In Embodiment 1, since the printing region Rt and dummy printing region Rd are provided inside a single ink panel, the length of the ink ribbon corresponding to one frame (ink panels of Y, M, C, Bk) is increased, there is the risk that the diameter of the ink ribbon is increased, and therefore, there is room for improvements. In Embodiment 2, the position across ink panels is set for the dummy printing region Rd (see
In Embodiment 2, as shown in
In the printer 1 of Embodiment 2, as shown in
Further, Embodiment 2 shows the example where the printing region Rt and the dummy printing region Rd are separated and the dummy printing region Rd is in the shape of a rectangle (see
In addition, this application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-071794 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-071795 incorporated herein by reference.
| Patent | Priority | Assignee | Title |
| 11850869, | Dec 17 2020 | Entrust Corporation | Retransfer printer with platen roller homing |
| Patent | Priority | Assignee | Title |
| 6227730, | Oct 02 1998 | ALPS Electric Co., Ltd. | Thermal transfer printer without printing displacement |
| 20050041087, | |||
| 20100118101, | |||
| JP2002361917, | |||
| JP2004050775, |
| Executed on | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance | Frame | Reel | Doc |
| Mar 02 2016 | KANEOYA, DAISUKE | Nisca Corporation | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 038161 | /0690 | |
| Mar 02 2016 | KANEOYA, DAISUKE | Nisca Corporation | CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE THE TITLE OF INVENTION PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 038161 FRAME 0690 ASSIGNOR S HEREBY CONFIRMS THE THE TITLE OF INVENTION SHOULD APPEAR AS: APPARATUS FOR FORMING IMAGES | 038596 | /0179 | |
| Mar 31 2016 | Nisca Corporation | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / |
| Date | Maintenance Fee Events |
| May 14 2020 | M1551: Payment of Maintenance Fee, 4th Year, Large Entity. |
| Jul 22 2024 | REM: Maintenance Fee Reminder Mailed. |
| Date | Maintenance Schedule |
| Nov 29 2019 | 4 years fee payment window open |
| May 29 2020 | 6 months grace period start (w surcharge) |
| Nov 29 2020 | patent expiry (for year 4) |
| Nov 29 2022 | 2 years to revive unintentionally abandoned end. (for year 4) |
| Nov 29 2023 | 8 years fee payment window open |
| May 29 2024 | 6 months grace period start (w surcharge) |
| Nov 29 2024 | patent expiry (for year 8) |
| Nov 29 2026 | 2 years to revive unintentionally abandoned end. (for year 8) |
| Nov 29 2027 | 12 years fee payment window open |
| May 29 2028 | 6 months grace period start (w surcharge) |
| Nov 29 2028 | patent expiry (for year 12) |
| Nov 29 2030 | 2 years to revive unintentionally abandoned end. (for year 12) |